Reducing plagiarism in computing Introduction 100; What is plagiarism? 101; Why is plagiarism an issue? 103; Why do students plagiarize? 104; How big an issue is it? 104; How to tackle plagiarism? 105; Summary 108;

While the issue of plagiarism is not unique to computing, some of the principles and skills taught to computing students may inadvertently lead to an increase in the instances of plagiarism. Computing students are exposed to a number of examples which can lead to confusing messages about plagiarism, such as:

The situation for computing students is further confused by the perception that the culture of computing and the ethos of the discipline is one that is slightly against the grain, close to the edge, slightly anachronistic, tolerating mild larceny and where hacking is an accepted practice. The fact that computer crime is not always dealt with seriously may give students the impression that they can adopt such practices when dealing with their assessed work.